I had the pleasure of visiting LEGO artist Steve Mayes at his new Brick This Studio in North Shields today. I follow Steve on Twitter (@brickthis) and noticed that he had said he would welcome visitors by appointment, so I dropped him a line and he graciously agreed to me popping round while I was in the area this week.

Brick This Studio – Angel Of The North And Shelving

He has a great space for building, and hopes to hold workshops and LEGO-related events there in the future.

Brick This Studio – Church Facade Commission

I was able to have a close look at some of Steve’s past creations and take a sneak peek at some new commissions he is undertaking for the Great Exhibition of the North. Steve’s contribution will be 40 models depicting a Timeline of Northern Innovations, on display at the Mining Institute in Newcastle between 22nd June – 9th September 2018. [Add 27th April 2018: Steve has just put out a call for extra models, so the display could include one of yours too!]

Brick This Studio – Baltic Arts Centre

Quite a few of the models are already built, and although it was great to see them, I was asked not to post photos of those which haven’t yet been made public, so as not to spoil the surprise!

Brick This Studio – Beach-front Bar

Steve has plenty of other models on display at his studio, including local icons such as a microscale versioin of the Civic Centre in Newcastle…

Brick This Studio – Civic Centre

And of course the stadium at St. James’s Park.

Brick This Studio – St. James’s Park

One model which I was allowed to photograph is Rocket – which will be motorised by the time of the exhibition in June.

Brick This Studio – Rocket

I can’t wait to visit the exhibition during the summer and see the finished results of all this building!

Brick This Studio – Somewhere To Relax

I would also like to thank Steve for being a great host – and he makes a very tasty cup of tea!